Ministry in bid to let TOT keep its spectrum

Late on Tuesday, ICT Minister Anudith Nakornthap was to meet with National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission chairman Thares Punsri and NBTC vice chairman Settapong Malisuwan to discuss the matter. However, this was put off as Settapong had an urgent meeting with some parliamentary committees to talk about the planned auction of the 2.1GHz spectrum.
An ICT Ministry source said Anudith planned to propose to the two commissioners that the ministry would use 20 megahertz bandwidth of TOT’s 2.3GHz spectrum to provide mobile data services to schools nationwide under the government’s One Tablet Per Child project. If the NBTC agrees, the ministry will assign TOT to invest in the services.
“The ministry also plans to discuss and coordinate on the upcoming 3G-2.1GHz auction, which is scheduled to start on October 16, but we are very disappointed that key NBTC [officials] didn’t join the session” an ICT Ministry source said.
In January 2000, the now-defunct National Frequency Administration Board allocated 64MHz of the 2.3GHz spectrum to TOT. The spectrum term was five years.
Later the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) was set up and awarded a 20-year telecom business licence to TOT in August 2005. TOT has claimed that the 2.3GHz band is now part of its major telecom licence, so it should be allowed to use this spectrum for 20 years or until 2025.
The NTC, which is also now defunct, extended the term of the 2.3GHz spectrum to TOT every year after the licence expiration in 2005.
According to the NBTC spectrum management master plan, all state agencies have to return spectra whose terms have expired for reallocation by the commission.
TOT also plans to invest in fourth-generation cellular technology, based on the 2.3GHz spectrum, as part of its planned second phase of its 3G network expansion.
Recently the ICT Ministry and the NBTC agreed to establish a joint subcommittee to coordinate and seek solutions on 10 key telecom issues. Among the issues in focus is the ministry’s proposal that the NBTC should permit TOT and CAT Telecom to keep their spectra after the end of the private telecom concessions.
CAT’s cellular concessions to True Move and Digital Phone Co both end in September next year, followed by the Advanced Info Service concession granted by TOT, which expires in 2015. CAT’s concession to Total Access Communication (DTAC) is the last to expire, in 2018.
Both state agencies want to maintain these spectra to generate new revenue sources.